Pennhurst opening night goes smoothly (With Video)

EAST VINCENT -- With the injunction request to halt Pennhurst Asylum denied hours before the attraction's debut Friday, actors and other staff were anxious to get the show started, and the paying customers were excited to see what all the hype was about.

"There's a little last-minute things going on, but everyone's getting into costume right now and I think the court case only fueled us to be a little stronger for tonight," said Emily Michelle Bullard, of Exeter, who was hired as an actor in the "padded cell" room.

Bullard said customers can expect a worthwhile haunted attraction throughout its season, which is set to run through Nov. 7. "Opening night is going to be crazy, but it's just going to be getting better and better," she said. "It's going to be great (opening night), even greater the next night, and so on and so forth."

Pennhurst property owner Richard Chakejian called the several hours he spent in court Friday for the injunction hearing "an inconvenience" but "we feel good with the decision and we prevailed, so no hard feelings."

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Chakejian, reiterating what he's told The Mercury several times before, said he and his crew are "just trying to pull off a fun, orderly event and we're excited about that."

Chakejian acknowledged that those directly affiliated with Pennhurst Asylum weren't the only ones excited about opening night.

"The community at large is very interested in seeing us open," Chakejian said. "The business community, particularly the small business community of Spring City and Royersford. We're thrilled for a couple reasons. We're thrilled for our employees, we're thrilled for our guests, and we're thrilled for the small businesses ... in Chester County. We think we're going to have a positive effect on all of the above."

Chakejian said his staff was excited but "cautiously optimistic" heading into the opening night. "A lot of hard work is coming together. It's like a family, so everybody's been working hard for a long time and we're all excited."

Chakejian said he hadn't seen any sign of protestors as of about 6:30 p.m., but he said he respects everyone's right to express their opinions.

"It's America, people are welcome to express themselves so long as it's orderly," Chakejian said. "We'll welcome everybody."

It appeared the only person who expressed criticism for Pennhurst Asylum was Margaret Dougherty, a former resident of Pennhurst State School and Hospital who stood in front of the former Administration Building holding a disposable camera which she used to snap a few photos. Dougherty said she disagreed with the haunted house and called the attraction "a disgrace."

Additionally, Dougherty said opening the property up to the public might send the wrong message for those who want to see it after the Halloween season is over.

"I just don't feel it should be a Halloween (attraction)," Dougherty said. "Once there's a Halloween attraction people are going to make a habit of coming up here."

Two people who were excited enough to see the grounds and the attraction at Pennhurst that they arrived about 11/2 hours before the attraction opened to be the first in line were Tyler Delany, 16, of Harleysville and Kyle Bauer, 16, of Souderton.

The two said they did research about Pennhurst online and had heard about all the hoopla surrounding the attraction in the news.

"It's pretty cool now that you can actually go in legally now," Delany said. "It's been on Ghost Adventures and everything."

Michael Vargo and his wife, Diana Vargo, of Pottstown, came out to the attraction because he has an interest in the buildings and she has an interest in haunted attractions.

"I've been interested in this place for years, reading about it in The Mercury, and this is a way to get out here legally," Vargo said, noting that after seeing photos online "it's kind of neat to be here in person."

Diana Vargo said she was looking forward to the haunted attraction, but the rumors of the buildings being really haunted didn't have any influence on her desire because she doesn't believe in ghosts.

However, one thing they both believed was all the controversy over the attraction was "a lot of fuss about nothing."

"It's just old news from 30 years ago, whatever happened then happened then, just let it rest," Diana Vargo said.

Kelsey Epps-Ortiz, 12, of Spring City, and Hannah Epps, 12, of Schwenksville, were among some of the younger faces in the crowd, although they did come with an adult chaperone.

Epps-Ortiz said the stories about real ghosts on the property had a huge influence on her decision to come out.

"My grandma saw it in the paper, she told me because I really like this place, it's really interesting," Epps-Ortiz said. "I heard this (attraction is) really haunted, and I wanted to go in. A lot of other places aren't actually like really haunted, they just have actors."

Epps said she wasn't really sure how to feel about going into the haunted attraction, because she didn't know if she really wanted to be scared, but she was going along because her friends were going.

Both girls said they were online Friday afternoon making sure no court action stopped the attraction from opening.

Another person who was ecstatic the attraction was opening was Randy Bates, the owner of the Bates Motel in Glen Mills, who partnered with Chakejian to create Pennhurst Asylum.

"This has probably been the biggest roller coaster of my life," Bates said. "I've been doing haunted attractions for 20 years and I've never thrown myself into a project like this. I firmly believe that in the last six months we have built a world class haunted attraction here and I know this is going to be ranked as one of the best in the country."

Bates said anyone who didn't make it out to opening night has 20 more nights to head out to Pennhurst Asylum and "it's only going to get better. The actors are going to learn, they're going to thrive they're going to find out new things to do, new ways to act.

"As the season progresses, it's only going to get better," Bates said.

As the first group made their way into the entrance, where they would first enter a museum with some history on Pennhurst and then step into the haunted house and eventually the haunted bowels of Pennhurst, Bates congratulated them on being the first ever inside Pennhurst Asylum.

What were the reviews of the attraction?

The first group through had mixed reactions.

"The tunnels were definitely neat," one person said.

"It was pretty gruesome, it was scary," said another.

Yet another person said "the fact that they're going off what actually, really happened there, that just freaks me out."

However, some customers, including Delany and Bauer who were the first in line to get their tickets, weren't completely thrilled.

Anthony Rozinski, 19, of Spring City, who was also in the first group through, agreed with Delany and Bauer.

"I thought it was more of a disappointment," he said summing up his opinion. "It was really hyped up to be this really scary thing and it really wasn't as scary as they made it sound. I was disappointed. It was too short."

Rozinski said he was looking forward to the opportunity to see the grounds at Pennhurst because, although he lives locally, he's never trespassed on the property.

"This is my first trip ever up here. I've never been here illegally," Rozinski said. "I've heard about it, I know about its history, that's part of the reason I wanted to come. The museum was nice, it just wasn't as scary as I thought it would be."

Although the opinions about the attraction varied, Michele Zajac, of Phoenixville, said the welcome mat will be out at Pennhurst Asylum for the next several weekends, and she will be waiting for anyone who wants to see it for themselves.

"I'm the registration nurse," she said, explaining that she is an actor at the attraction. "I welcome all the new patients into the asylum, introduce them to the doctor and tell them what his plans are for them. They can expect to be scared out of their wits, this place is awesome."